Happy (?) Holidays

Jason and I "attempted" to take Christmas pictures of the girls last night...The following is a brief montage of the experience...............Enjoy!

Notice the head and foot sticking out from the bear-reminiscent of a scene from the Wizard of Oz.

Mommy is so mean to make me sit here!We actually considered this one of our best shots.

Enough sitting, I'm outta here.

I have better things to do than sit here looking pretty.

I can stand tall just like my big sister.......

Maybe not.

Darn Paparazzi!!!

Abby has decided that she has had enough of her little sister not sitting still for the pictures. She is just going to slowly squeeze the life out of Madeline.

Pre-Approval

Well it's been almost a month since I've posted anything. I was hoping to have exciting news before I added anything on here, but we're still waiting. On November 23, we sent our Letter of Intent to China. Basically, this is a few documents that state that we want to adopt Max and a plan for how we will care for his special needs. We included information about us such as health status, financial status, info on our girls, etc. Based on this we will either be granted pre-approval, or we will be denied. There is nothing in our file that should disqualify us, even so, we are spending lots of time in prayer that our Heavenly Father would work again in this situation. After we get pre-approval, we can send packages to Max (including pictures of us!!!!) My heart's desire was for the pre-approval to come before Christmas so we could send him a Christmas package, there's still time, but I'm not going to get my hopes up too high.

After pre-approval we send in dossier (which is a LOT of work) and wait for our final acceptance. So....please continue to pray alongside us that we would hear news soon, and that it would be good.

We Made It

It was a long day, but we made it! The 5k, Run For A Son, that our small group organized and put on for our adoption was a success! The weather was perfect and everything went really well. We will never be able to thank our small group enough for doing this for us. We raised over $2500 through this race....and we discovered that Teresa has the gift to be a race coordinator. So a big shout-out to Aaron & Teresa, Steve & Nadia, Hector & Claudia, Omar & Julie, Steve & Janice, and Dave, Kimi, & Haylee! You guys are awesome!!!

Pictures of Race Day will follow as soon as I get some. I am so smart that I brought my camera to the race to chronicle everything, but didn't put the newly charged battery back into the camera.
That's what happens on 6 hours of sleep.

1 task down, a BUNCH to go

We had our final home study visit today-this means that the house will go back to its normal state of disarray. Just kidding! We've actually been doing a really good job lately keeping up with things, so it has stayed much cleaner. I am truly trying to make a life change in keeping on top of the house, because when Max comes home, things are just going to get crazier.

But tonight is a time to celebrate and relax. We are finished with one small part of our adoption process-there is MUCH that follows, but at least I can mark one thing off my list. Now I will be focusing on our Dossier. The dossier is a huge file of information about all areas of our life. We will include background checks, medical exams (no fudging on my weight), financial statements, DNA samples (just kidding). Basically, it is to prove that we are who we say we are, and that we are fit to adopt. So if you call get a call asking for a reference, lie! Make us look good (again, kidding).

3 Days and Counting......

Only 3 days until Run For A Son! I cannot believe it's almost here. We have been busily preparing all the last minute details. The funny thing is, we have absolutely no idea how many people will be there. We had almost 50 people pre-register, but we feel that there will be more people who register on the day of. So it's kind of like when you have a party and only some people RSVP. You have no idea what to expect. But the great thing about all of this is that God knows how many people will be there. He already has a plan for this event and it will be a success whether we have 50 runners, or 500 (Lord help us if we have 500 cause we will be short lots of porta-potties!).

Anyway-if you live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, and you feel like being outdoors on Saturday, please join us at River Legacy park in Arlington. Registration starts at 7, the race starts at 8. It's going to be a beautiful morning! Come help us Run For A Son!

The Miracle of Max

It has been quite a roller coaster the past 2 weeks. Just when you think things are mundane, God shakes them up!

We have been waiting for some time for news regarding a request that was made on our behalf to have the file of a particular little boy placed with our adoption agency. We were into week 4 of waiting for any news when God placed in motion a chain of events that may prove to be life-changing.

We had already been experiencing a hard week, due to the unexpected death of Jason's grandmother. On the morning that we should have doing our first home study visit with our social worker, I was bathing the baby to get her ready to stay with a friend of mine while I attended the funeral of Jason's grandmother. While Madeline was in the bathtub, I received a phone call from Jason on my cell phone while the home phone began ringing off the hook. Jason had received an email from a friend of ours in China (as did many of you!) that concerned the little boy we had been praying to adopt. His file had been sent to a completely different adoption agency while we had been waiting to hear if it would be sent to ours. The email went on to explain that we needed to act fast to switch agencies and get matched. Our emotions were frantic. Not only had his file not been matched with our agency, but it had been matched with a completely different agency altogether. Would this prove to be the miracle that we had been waiting for, or would it close the door shut on our pursuit of the little boy we wanted to adopt?

With a naked baby splashing water all over me, I proceeded to call the new agency to find out any information on our little guy. When I finally got through, I was in tears as I explained our situation. I had no idea what to expect from the agency being that they knew nothing of us and we knew even less about them. But almost immediately, I could see God's hand on the situation. I quickly asked the most important question-whether our little boy was even still available. Our fear was that another family had seen his picture and his information and fallen in love with him like we had and moved to match with him, all before we even knew he had been listed there. I held my breath after I had given his information and waited for their response...... He was available. He had not been matched up to a family. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!! I told them everything as quickly as I could and spoke with several people over the course of the conversation. They agreed to put him on hold and take us on as clients. We realize what a miracle it was that he was put with an agency in the United States. If it had been in another country, then we would not have been able to proceed. Plus, our new agency is unashamedly Christian. AMAZING! Everyone that I spoke to on the phone recognized and verbalized that God's hand was all over this.

So in less than 30 minutes I was able to switch adoption agencies and get this heart-stealing little boy put on hold with us. The stipulation was that I had one week to return all the contracts and necessary paperwork and..............send in a check for $8,000. As my heart skipped a beat (or 3) and I tried not to pass out, I heard myself answer that we could send in that much money in a week. I knew that if God had gotten us to this point, that somehow, He would miraculously make that money come in as well. We had $4000 in our account that we set up for our adoption expenses, so we were short the other half. I started sending out emails (which many of you got!), sharing the situation and the praises we had regarding the miracle that had just taken place. And God moved. In 3 short days, we received the $4,000 that we needed. Incredible. People started emailing and calling and sending cards, including donations to get us to our goal. We were astounded. I could not believe the way people responded. People opened their hearts and their checkbooks to support us. It was amazing to see that happen. God totally used people all over the country to help us out.....

So-we are proudly announcing that we have accepted the referral of Max from China, the little boy that God put on our hearts, one year ago, to adopt as our son. Please continue to pray for us as we wait for approval of the match from China . I believe with all of my heart that if God wants Max to be ours, than we will get him. God has already shown His power in this whole process. We have been moved to tears at the miracles that have been taking place. I am honored that He chose our family for this journey. We are also honored that so many of you have joined us on this journey as well. Thank you.

Run For A Son

www.runforason.com

We have a terrific fundraiser next month that I'd love to share with you. Our small group from our church is organizing a 5K run/walk to help us with our adoption expenses. Jason and I are so overwhelmed and touched that our group is doing this for us. They are organizing the entire event, taking care of all the details, and basically working like crazy to make this happen. I will never be able to truly express our gratitude to them.

The 5K is designed to be a family event. There will be food, bounce houses, a live band, and of course, the race itself. Please take a look at the website to see if you are interested in participating. It will be a fun morning!

God is really blessing this event already. Details are falling into place in a way that no human could ever hope to control. For instance, we just found out that we will have the band. However, the city of Arlington requires a permit for music at events like this. You have to apply for the permits 45 days in advance. The race is less than a month away and as of last night, we didn't have the permit. This morning, one of the ladies from our group called the city about it and was told that we had missed the 45 day period. But then she hesitated, telling my friend that somehow the permit had been approved at the last board meeting, even though we hadn't even confirmed the request. God is so amazing! He is taking care of the details-even when we can't!

4 and 1/2 months later...........................

It has been months since I've sat down to write an update. I am a terrible blogger. I have so many things going on, that I have not kept up with this blog. But I promise to try harder! I truly want to keep everyone updated on our adoption process....and I know this is a great way.

We are about to begin the homestudy phase of the adoption process. A social worker will come to our home, making 4 visits, in order to determine if we would be good candidates for adoption. So it's time to get busy on cleaning this house. I have much to do and only about a week to get it accomplished. Pray for me!

Introduction To Our Family

I wanted to give some background on our family in order to keep everyone up to date.

Jason and I met while working as missionaries to Buenos Aires, Argentina. We were married in the summer of 2001. He began his master's degree at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary that fall, and I began teaching a second grade class in Grand Prairie. We had our first baby in February of 2004, Abigail. What a joy she has brought to our lives since joining us! Jason graduated with his Master of Divinity in May of 2005 and I quit my teaching position to stay home with Abby. God led us to a position at a local church in August of 2005. Jason is the Missions and Hispanic Pastor at the church. It's an amazing body of believers. Our second daughter, Madeline, joined us in June of 2006. I can't believe how much fun she is! What a blessing to be a mother of two beautiful little girls! We are so fortunate......

Welcome

On the advice of experts in the area of adoption, I have decided to set up this blog in order to keep friends and family updated on where we are in our journey. I'll start from the beginning........

Jason visited China last October and brought home precious memories, pictures and videos of places he had visited and people he had met. Over the course of several weeks of looking at pictures of different things, God began to stir my heart for the countless children in China who were living their lives in orphanages. At first I believed it was just my motherly instinct kicking in, hurting for these children who were starting their lives without the love and security of their own family. But as the weeks passed, I realized it was something more. I began to pray about the idea that perhaps God was indeed stirring my heart to do something. I finally brought up the idea to Jason. We committed to pray about it-which we did, and did, and did, and did. It seemed like God wasn't speaking to us about it.
Then one day Jason and I had the conversation that brought us to the point we're at today. He said that perhaps God had already moved and we needed to move to. He compared it to the days when the Israelites were wandering in the desert. The last chapter of Exodus described the completion of the tabernacle by Moses and the profound events that followed. Exodus 40:33-38 says, "And so Moses finished the work. Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out-until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels." Simple faith. When the cloud stayed, the people stayed. When the cloud moved, God moved-and so did the Israelites. So maybe God had already started on this journey-it was now time for us to pack up our tabernacle (our baggage and our fears) and get going. In order to hear Him, we needed to follow Him. So we did. We took a step of faith and the results have been amazing. To see how God has already worked through this has been incredible! We are so excited about the rest of the journey that is yet to come..........
So here we are. We are in the process of adopting a child with special needs from China. Currently we are filling out paperwork to get our homestudy started. It is overwhelming and I imagine my fingers will never be the same from all the writing and typing I'm doing to complete everything, but it will all be worth it when we bring our sweet child home. I know that God has a perfect plan for our family in this, and we are so honored that He chose us to do this.